All Lake Zurich senior running back Jason Sayre saw in front of him was one safety. Beyond that safety was an open field.

The Bears were trailing Mount Carmel with 11 minutes, 23 seconds remaining in their Class 7A second-round playoff game. Lake Zurich had the ball on its own 20-yard line.

Lake Zurich junior quarterback Jack Moses read the defense, then handed the ball off to Sayre. He burst through a hole on the left side and ran past the Caravan safety for an 80-yard touchdown that put the Bears on top.

“I had a free lane to run as fast as I possibly could,” Sayre said. “I was running my legs off.”

Sayre had spent his entire high school career preparing to make a play like that. It turned out to be his last game as a Bear.

Mount Carmel scored a late touchdown and prevailed 17-14 in Lake Zurich.

The 6-foot, 190-pound Sayre played all season at linebacker. He took minimal reps at running back in relief of sophomore starter Jack Dwyer. A health condition forced the Bears’ coaching staff to limit Sayre’s exposure on offense.

“I had a breathing problem,” Sayre said. “It’s a different form of asthma that kept me from physically being able to go both ways.”

But Sayre was health enough to take snaps on running back when postseason practices began. His reward was the starting running back job in the Bears’ first-round playoff game at DeKalb. Sayre responded with 116 yards rushing, including a 63-yard touchdown run.

Lake Zurich coach Luke Mertens said Sayre was a game-changer for the Bears (7-4) in the postseason.

“We wanted to use him at running back but didn’t know how much he could handle,” Mertens said. “For him to come out as as senior and have the type of year he had speaks to his tenacity.”

“I love running back. It’s my favorite position in the world,” Sayre added. “I’m so glad (Mertens) gave me a chance to run the ball these past two games.”

Sayre’s fourth-quarter touchdown run against Mount Carmel (10-1) temporarily gave Lake Zurich a lead in a wild second half. The score was only 3-0 at halftime before the teams combined for 28 points in the third and fourth quarters. Mount Carmel scored the game-winning touchdown on a 4-yard run by Demetrius Rias with 1:28 left.

The loss capped a very successful two-year stretch for the Bears, who won 20 games, including five in the playoffs, since the beginning of the 2017 season. Lake Zurich has won 36 playoff games since 2000.

“The seniors have pushed us a lot the last two years,” said junior wide receiver James Piggott, who scored the other Bears touchdown on a 65-yard pass from Moses. “All they wanted was to win state. I’m disappointed we couldn’t do it for them.”

“It doesn’t matter if it’s Week 10 or Week 14 or Week 9, this is the worst day of the year,” Mertens said. “To have to say goodbye to kids who just give you everything.”